As in the past, extensive research of nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, etc., was performed; and one such nonvolatile memory that utilizes the change of an electrical resistance value has been proposed. In such memory, a structure is formed in which the resistance value inside a memory element is changed by an electric field; and different logical values are retained.
A method in which ion movement is used has been proposed as a method for changing the electrical resistance value. In such memory, a variable resistance film made of an insulating material is disposed between an opposing electrode and a metal electrode that supplies metal ions; the metal ions from the metal electrode are generated by an electric field; conductive filaments are formed inside the variable resistance film; and the memory element is switched to a low resistance state. On the other hand, the memory element is switched to a high resistance state by causing the filaments to disappear by returning the metal ions to the metal electrode by an electric field having a reverse orientation.